'Ello there! The name is Rangrim Stonecrusher, an if I can crush stone, just think of what I can do to yer skull, so listen up and don't go pissin' me off! You can call me Rangrim, I lost my clan name many years ago. The good fer nothing Stonecrusher clan bastards exiled me because I dared to reject the Gods and embrace my "power", but that is a story fer another time!

Two years ago, I was a wanderer, lookin' fer some adventure. There wasn't a single tavern to be found that wasn't bustling with rumors about what had been going on in Osradin. I decided that it was the perfect opportunity for me to bash some skulls, find some treasure and grow me powers. I was determined to prove just how big of a mistake the clan had made when they gave me the boot...Someday I would return and show them just how powerful I was, and they would have two choices! They could either beg for mercy and make me the new clan leader, or get their skulls split open one by one.

The story of how I came to be with the Stone Crows is meaningless, suffice to say I had found a "clan" who were able to recognize the power contained within my small dwarfish frame, and for the time gave me a place to call home. Besides, it was painfully obvious that they needed me...

So there ya have it...short an to the point, just like me!

As it is early spring, it is getting to be about time for us to move again. Kavak, the current leader of the Stone Crows made the decision to form up a scouting party. One of our shepherds, Sam, and his flock are missing. Finally it is time for action, and naturally Kavak chose me to be part of the party. I mean, let's be honest here...there is no one in this clan more suited to defending a bunch of novices than me. As for his other "choices", I will have to hold my final judgement, but man oh man is it a ragtag crew.

First and foremost, thankfully there is another dwarf in the party, unfortunately he is the only other dwarf. His name is Bilon...for some reason or another he has not shared his clan name. From the little bit of interaction I have had with him in camp, I have come to know he is a cleric of one of the petty gods. I cannot understand why he shows such devotion to a god, when clearly this land has been forsaken by the gods. Despite his foolhardy belief in his gods, it always nice to be around other dwarves. I suppose I can tolerate his beliefs so long as he keeps the rest of the party on their feet.

Kavak's next choice was rather intriguing, a monk. I know very little about this monk, not even a name. I have only come to know that he is a Githzerai, and he is quite attuned to the world of psionics, the same source of my own power. The Githzerai rarely says anything to me and I must question how his simple clothing will manage to provide any sort of protection in a real battle. I just got me a bad feelin' that he is going to be a bit fragile and I am gonna have to be on my toes to keep our foes attention on me.

From what I gather, Kavak's choice of Jett, the Genasi Wizard was a pretty easy choice. Jett has been with the Stone Crows for quite some time and has served in the past as a guard. Jett is impressively strong for a wizard, tho I admit I have met very few wizards in my travels. Dwarves tend to be particularly leery of magic, tho don't misunderstand me. I have no problem with magic seeing as dwarves are equally leery of those who embrace psionics. From what I gather Jett is pretty confident in his powers, but he has yet to really be tested. I just hope he doesn't wilt in the face of a powerful adversary.

Lastly Kavak decided it would be advantageous to send a rogue with us. When Kavak announced that Winnish Haversham would be joining us, I can't say I was pleased. If ya ask me, and even if ya aren't...I was a bit shocked by this decision. Maybe my powers of perception are a bit weak, but to say Winnish is flamboyant would be an understatement. In my opinion, about the only thing more flaming than Winnish would be a phoenix or a fire elemental. Now don't go thinkin' I got a problem with that...it just don't make much sense to me. I'm just sayin' at some point ya got to get down to business and put some hurt on the enemy. How is he gonna do that with some silly quips and some flashy moves with a metal toothpick!

Ah well, it is late. We leave tomorrow to find Sam, hopefully it will be an uneventful trip and we will find Sam safe and sound with his flock.

Ah, the crack of dawn...what a horrible time of day. You would normally never catch a dwarf waking at such an unearthly hour! Hell, the concept of dawn...it means nothing when you are living underground. I will admit I had a bit of ale in me when it was decided we would leave first thing in the morning, but I'll be damned if this is what I thought I was agreeing to. Thankfully some fellow Crows had made some breakfast, so at least we weren't heading out on an empty stomach.

I took some time to polish me Craghammer... a weapon so fine. It has crushed many skulls and many stones in it's day. It has served me well for years, it is a real man's weapon. Now that my weapon had been attended to, I embarked on the unpleasant task of getting into my armor. Don't get me wrong, the craftsmanship of the armor was fine enough, it was forged by a dwarf after all...but in the past few years I have put on a few extra pounds. Once it is on, it fits well enough, but getting into it is kind of like trying to squeeze a halfling into a cannon. If you try hard enough, it will happen.

I decided to check in on the rest of the party to make sure everyone was getting ready. I gathered up the rest of my gear and went in search of the others.

Not surprisingly, I found Bilon offering up prayers to his god...he was petitioning for favor in finding Sam, as well as protection in our journey...

"Bilon, git off your knees and git your gear on. If ya want to find the shepherd ya aint gonna do it by sittin' here an talkin' to yourself. I aint enjoyin' these early hours, but it is time to git movin'. Don't forget to polish that weapon...not that it looks like ya ever swing it. An why are ya prayin' for protection, ya got me, an I reckon I am all the protection you'll be needin'."

I am pretty sure I overheard Bilon mumbling something about smiting a fellow dwarf, but I ignored him an moved on.

Next I came across our unnamed monk on the outskirts of the camp, practicing his fighting style. I must admit it is a bit mesmerizing to watch, the way he weaved and bobbed in and out. Me...I prefer a nice straightforward approach. I see me enemy, I run up to him and smack him as hard as I can with me hammer. Perhaps it is crude, but it is very effective. After a few minutes of watchin' him I approached...

"Hey monk, time to get movin'. One of these days you are gonna need to be tellin' me your name, or else I may just come up with a name for ya and you'll just have to like it! I get the sense the source of your powers be psionic in nature, just as my own power. I have heard ya can hit with the force of a cannon...that may be, but it looks like to me that ya be a bit fragile so try not to get in over your head."

The monk gave me a nod of acknowledgment and started to pack up. What an odd one he is...hopefully those moves are for more than just show. I must admit that my interactions with the party so far are not inspiring much confidence.

Time to head down to the middle of the camp where I should be able to find Winnish and Jett near their tents. Due to the nomadic nature of the Crows, the camp was a maze of tents. I was weaving between them the best I could, in an attempt to cut across camp and get to Winnish and Jett as quickly as possible. I was making pretty good time, given my short legs, when all of a sudden as if I had tripped over my own two feet I was face down in the dirt! A haughty laugh arose from behind me...there was no mistaking it, that was Winnish!

"Dwarves...the people of the earth! Are you so hungry that you had to dive face first into the mud to get your breakfast?!" quipped Winnish.

"Ya bastard, it took me an hour to polish me equipment this morning. Don't ever sneak up on a dwarf...you are lucky my defenses were down. The last guy that tried to sneak up on me ended up having his knees introduced to me hammer! Shouldn't you be getting ready to go and find Sam?"

Before I could reply, Winnish slipped away as quietly as he came. Hopefully Winnish also knows this about dwarves...we have a very long memory and are excellent at holding grudges! So the only one unaccounted for at this point was Jett. I decided there wasn't time to do a proper clean up job right now, so I brushed myself off and finished making my way to the center of the camp. Unfortunately I didn't see Jett anywhere, so I peeked into his tent.

The gall...the lazy sod was still asleep! I walked over and kicked his bed with the force of an angry mule.

"Jett, git your ass out of that bed! You were supposed to have been ready over an hour ago. Now we will have to delay while you prepare your spells, Kavak will not be pleased!"

Jett lazily rolled over, yawned and stood up. I could swear I saw a glint of lightning in his eyes...

As tho he were bored, Jett replied..."Would you relax Rangrim...it isn't like we are off to save the world. Sam probably got lost and will be back any time now. Besides, I don't need to get ready, we aren't likely to encounter anything that even my most simple cantrips won't be able to handle. I don't think you understand the sheer power I harness. I have heard that you dwarves shun magic, so I will forgive you this time for insulting my power, but do not let it happen again. Now leave, I need another hour or two of sleep and then we shall leave!"

It is true that dwarves tend to shun magic, tho they shunned my embracing of psionics just as vigorously. I do not doubt that Jett harnesses some considerable magic, but that attitude is gonna get him into trouble one day, mark my words.

"Oh, you need another hour of sleep do you? No problem, I will just let Kavak know that we can't go find Sam yet because you aren't ready. I am sure he will understand and not come charging in here to drag your ass out of bed..."

Surprisingly, and with a spring in his step Jett jumped out of bed, had his gear packed and was out of his tent in no time flat. Jett and I came out of his tent and thankfully the rest of the party was there, ready to go."Well, looks like were all ready, so lets git goin', we need to find Sam and git him and his flock back here as soon as possible."

It was mid-morning by the time we actually left camp...so much for leaving at the crack of dawn. Hopefully this will be a quick jaunt and we will find Sam, safe and sound. The longer we trudged through the fields, the less confident I was of this being a quick and easy trip.

We had been searching for nearly 5 hours when we heard the faint, yet distinctive Stone Crows distress signal being blown out on a ram's horn.

"Let's git a move on folks, that must be Sam, and from the sounds of it he has found himself some trouble."

As we ran, the sound of the horn began to waiver, we were running out of time, but we were getting closer. It sounded like Sam was just over the crest of the next hill. We dug in deep and pushed up the hill paying little attention to our surroundings, when I heard a loud thump behind me and I turned to look. Jett had tripped over something and was scrambling to get back to his feet. He was covered in blood but what was it from...I took a closer look and my heart sunk into the pit of me stomach. It was the remains of one of our precious black sheep, ripped to shreds. We were close now, as we crested the hill none of us were prepared to see what was waiting for us...

Lizards...an I be meanin' giant lizards. The bastards were everywhere an at least half of the sheep were in pieces. I surveyed the field an I finally spotted Sam, he was crumpled over against a well, and was badly bloodied. At first glance there were at least three headin' in to try an finish off Sam, we would need to intercept them as quickly as possible. We needed a plan of attack, but before I could say anything Winnish rushed in to try an attack the nearest lizard.

"Nonsense you oaf!" replied Winnish..."Watch as I deftly draw my rapier and strike at this foul beast with more panache then you could ever hope to have!"

Winnish jabbed at the beast, but was rather shocked when the beast deftly dodged his attack.

I continued to survey the battlefield, looking for the strongest target. My attention was quickly drawn to the west as the largest lizard of them all let out a guttural roar. He was easily three times the size of any of the other lizards, his scales a deep red. There was my prey, he would fall before my mighty craghammer.

"I'll be takin' care of that giant lizard, he looks like the leader of the pack, the rest of you..." Bilon rushed past before I could finish, calling down a sacred flame on the lizard Winnish was engaged with. The lizard cringed, but still stood strong.

"Bilon, we are here to save Sam! In case you missed it, he be bleeding badly over there by the well. Winnish be a fool for rushin' in, don't forget why we be here!"

Bilon snapped back..."Rangrim, you may be a fellow dwarf, but you clearly do not comprehend the gods! It is no wonder you were exlied from your clan! Avandra be on my side, and she shall reward me for being so bold! This isn't the time for planning...it is time for action. I am here to save all and preserve all, not just Sam. For all your talk of being a great dwarven battlemind, I have yet to see any action. Quit yer worryin' and start swingin' that hammer."

Right then before me own eyes, Sam's health began to improve slightly, hopefully buying us some time to get to him.

Jett was the next to take action, he stepped forward and pulled from his robe a glowing orb. Flames began to spring from the orb and flew across the field as tho they were an arrow shot from a bow. The flames landed at the feet of two of the lizards near Sam and exploded in a deafening burst. The lizards were knocked to the ground as both winced in pain.

"Nice bit of magic Jett but I sure hope you have more tricks up that sleeve."

Condescendingly, Jett responded..."That was but a tip of the mountain of the power I posses Rangrim. You will soon learn how foolish you sound for underestimating my abilities!"

Finally, I had sufficiently surveyed the battlefield and was ready to charge. I gripped my craghammer tightly and readied my mighty shield. Just as I began to move in to attack, the monk weaved in front of me, charging my prey. The monk moved with the rhythm of a mighty snake, as tho he were a cobra. In an attempt to square up with the beast, the monk left himself open for an attack, an attack the giant lizard was all to ready to make. The giant lizard lashed out and caught the monk square in the chest with a blow so hard that the Githzerai was bloodied badly.

I charged at the beast letting out a roar of my own in an attempt to draw his attention away from the monk. I had marked my prey, but before I could strike, he lashed out once again at the monk and connected with a nasty bite. The monk crumpled to the ground, his life slipping away.

"Why in the nine hells is no one listening to me! Bilon leave Winnish to fend for himself, we need to git this monk back on his feet."

Our situation had gone from bad to worse, and the battle had only just begun...

I pressed forward, rearing back with me craghammer. I focused my energies, turning my fists and arms as hard as iron, and brought me hammer crashing down on the giant beast. My powerful attack certainly got his attention, the monk should be safe for now. As I moved in further to get meself between the giant lizard and the monk, Jett turned his attention to the lizard near Winnish. Jett had no sooner turned his gaze, when a deafening crack of thunder erupted from the ground, badly hurting the foe that was attacking Winnish. Jett then returned his gaze back towards Sam, concentrated, and caused the flames engulfing the two lizards to grow in size.

In a panic, Bilon rushed forward, faced with the prospect of needing to heal multiple allies. Speaking words of great healing power, the monk was brought back from the brink of death. Bilon then turned his attention to one of the smaller lizards, once again calling down a sacred flame, turning the lizard into a pile of ash.

Sam, out of sheer willpower began to rise, despite being so badly wounded. One of the lizards rushed through the magical flames and struck Sam, dropping him back to the ground.

The foe that Winnish had failed miserably in attempting to attack, leaped at Winnish connecting with a sharp claw. Winnish staggered back, but he was still standing.

The remaining lizards went after the few sheep that were still alive, dropping two more of the sheep. The flock had been decimated...even if we got Sam out of this, very few of the sheep would be left.

The giant lizard regained his senses and attempted to turn me into a tasty dwarven snack, but my defenses were too much for him to overcome. The adrenaline pumped through my system, I could feel the energy swirling as my defenses hardened even further...for a short time I would be able to shrug off considerable damage.

Seeing Sam drop back down against the well, Winnish decided to peel off from his current foe and made a beeline for the well to try and get between Sam and the lizards.

Jett was now left alone with one of the beasts. The lizard charged at Jett, ramming him with his bony skull and knocking Jett prone. Jett struggled to catch his breath, coughing in pain. Regaining his breath, Jett jumped to his feat and let loose another blast of thunder that hit the lizard with a deafening boom. The lizard flew back from the force of the hit, and did not get back up.

As the lizard gasped his last breath, Bilon advanced further, nearing my location. Apparently Avandra is a fan of fire, as yet again Bilon called for more sacred flame to smite his foes. The giant lizard in front of me stumbled back, his skin crisping as tho he was being cooked alive. This provided an opening for me to launch another attack. I leapt into the air, smashing my craghammer down upon the head of the giant beast. The blow was so powerful, the lizards skull was crushed under my might.

Seeing the giant fall, the other lizards began to panic. Winnish took the opening to hurdle the well and landed a precise strike against the lizard nearest to Sam. The rest of the party pressed the advantage and before long, the rest of the lizards had been dispatched. Victory surely had been pried from the jaws of defeat. I was truly amazed the fools hadn't managed to all get themselves killed. Thankfully Sam was alive, and I would soon be done with this party...

The lizards lay dead all around us along with most of the flock. Sam was safe but I am afraid Kavak will be highly disappointed with us for loosing so many sheep. I wasn't much in the mood for talking, so I decided to take a closer look at what remained of our enemies, Jett and the monk joined me. While I was doing my best to not get involved, Bilon took the lead, speaking words of healing for Sam...

"I am glad to see you alive Sam, that was a close call. The normal grazing fields are quite a ways from here, what happened?" asked Bilon.

Sam, clearly still in pain replied, "I was preparing to bring the flock back to the camp when in the distance I saw smoke rising above the horizon to the southwest. No one should be out there this time of the year, so my curiosity got the best of me. I decided to investigate, and as I approached I could make out the outline of a wagon toppled over on it's side...when all of a sudden the flock was spooked and took of running. We ran for a few hours, but eventually them lizards caught up to us. I couldn't run any further so I decided to sound my horn and prayed that help would arrive. You five were certainly a sight for sore eyes, I thought for sure I was a goner."

"Not to interrupt, but I am gonna interrupt...it looks like there are some sort of markings on these lizards. You ever seen these before Sam?" I asked rather abruptly...

"I can't be sure, but if I had to wager a guess, I would say those are the markings of the Black Raptor tribe. Odd for them to be this far north, I wonder if they were from that caravan?" answered Sam.

"Well, if these lizards truly are from the Black Raptor tribe, Kavak is going to want to know. Do you feel well enough to make it back to camp? I am thinking we should investigate that caravan before heading back. Who knows what useful supplies there may be..." chimed Bilon.

Everyone in the party agreed that it would be wise to check out the wagon and to send Sam back to camp. While everyone was taking a breather to try and allow some wounds to mend, seeing as I was predictably unscathed, I took a moment to harvest the corpses of the lizards. You never know when some lizard hide and claws will come in handy. If nothing else there may be someone willing to part with some gold for the materials.

Now that everyone was healed up and a bit rested, we parted ways with Sam and headed southwest to investigate the caravan that Sam had told us about. Was it really possible that the Black Raptors were migrating this far to the north? We were making good time and soon the wagon came into view. As we approached, we could see multiple horse skeletons on the ground around the wagon, and a partially eaten corpse of a dragonborn woman on the ground.

We slowed our pace and cautiously approached. Something bad had happened here, but what...could those lizards we fought have done this? I suppose it is possible...however why would they have only partially eaten the dragonborn? If they were in fact Black Raptor tribe, and this woman was from the tribe as well, why would the lizards have turned on her. We came in search of answers, and so far we were left with only more questions.

We were now about 60 feet from the wagon, moving barely at a slow walk, when Jett staggered back, as tho he had been hit with a sudden gust of wind.

"Everyone stop! There is something very wrong here...those horse skeletons, some of them are giving off the telltale signs of magic. I can not divine what type of magic, but it is certainly powerful. I suggest we think very carefully about our next move..." said Jett.

"Something is wrong alright... look at that woman...she be missin' the flesh from her legs...and look at that wagon...what could have tipped it over on it's side like that? I say we take no chances...toss a torch onto the wagon and set it ablaze."

Not surprisingly, no one agreed with my suggestion. Apparently, the group felt there might be something of use in the wagon, not to mention the wagon itself would be a great prize. While that may be the case, I just didn’t have a good feeling… in my gut something just felt wrong. If I couldn’t have my way and burn the whole thing down, I figured I might as well get the inevitable out of the way, so I boldly walked towards the wagon.

My suspicions were clearly valid…as soon as I got close to the wagon, three of the horse skeletons sprung to life, and four Halfling ghouls jumped from the wagon. They had been laying in wait for some unsuspecting morons like us to come upon them.

As the battle began, I was already right in the thick of things, so I quickly marked one of the horses as my prey and launched an attack before they could react. Somehow my strike fell short, but had clearly garnered the attention of numerous enemies.

Jett took the opening I had created to summon a brilliant arcane flame near the wagon, knocking multiple ghouls prone, singeing their unnatural flesh. As the flames were erupting, both Winnish and the monk advanced, looking to flank one of the horses that were near me. The monk struck with blinding speed, landing a solid hit on the horse. The skeletal horse staggered but stayed standing. Winnish drew his rapier and in the same motion attacked. His rapier connected with the horse, but did little damage. His rapier would not serve him all that well against a creature of pure bone.

Bilon looked to the heavens, muttered something and then locked eyes with the horse I had failed to hit. A bolt of flame fell from the sky, easily hitting the horse. As a blessing from Avandra, Bilon was able to bolster the health of the monk.

The foul undead creatures launched a counter attack, the horse nearest to me kicked at me, and connected with a solid blow, however I was able to shrug it off, taking no damage beyond a scuff on my armor. The horse did however succeed in pissing me off somethin’ good. I spent a lot of time cleanin’ me armor this morning and the next chance I got, I was determined to introduce the bastard to me craghammer.

One of the ghouls rose to his feet and clawed at me. As his claws sunk into my skin, I found myself unable to move my legs. He hadn’t paralyzed me, but damn I all to hell…I was immobilized…this could make things difficult.

The second skeletal horse charged at me and attacked…despite not being able to move me legs, I was still able to dodge his attack. Now this was a battle, finally some foes worthy of my skills and power.

The rest of the ghouls shook off the impacts of the arcane flames Jett had conjured and got back on their feet. One of the ghouls broke off from the pack and ran to the east, towards the third horse…I wasn’t certain what he was doing, but I was pretty certain he wasn’t making a hasty retreat.

The remaining ghoul advanced towards the monk but was unable to connect with an attack. The ghoul that had broken off from the rest of the pack managed to reach the third skeletal horse and climbed onto it’s back. His strategy was all too clear now. The horse charged and connected with a vicious hit on Winnish. Winnish winced in pain, but before he could regain his senses the ghoul followed up with another attack, immobilizing Winnish and bloodying him badly.

The monk, suffering from what I can only call delusions of grandeur attempted an incredibly elaborate move, somersaulting onto a barrel in an attempt to get into the middle of the pack. The minute he launched himself onto the barrel, he opened himself up for an attack, which this time the ghoul made no mistakes. The monk immediately became immobilized on top of the barrel. At this point three of us were immobilized, and we had yet to drop a single enemy.

It was at this point that I finally was able to begin to see a glimpse of power in the rest of the group. As I began to focus my power, gaining the ability to shrug off a non trivial amount of damage, Bilon unleashed the full power of his hatred for undead, dealing significant damage to multiple enemies, immobilizing them and even knocking them prone. When the dust settled, one of the horses had crumpled into a pile of shattered fragments of bone.

Jett quickly followed Bilon’s lead, focusing his energies to increase the size of his arcane flames, engulfing nearly every enemy. He then let loose a vicious crack of thunder, felling the horse that was next to me.

Winnish, still immobilized, but safe for the moment, took a minute to catch his breath, regaining some of his lost health.

“You lot are certainly doing a wonderful job…these undead are just lucky that I am unable to move, or else I would really teach them a lesson!” chimed Winnish.The monk saw an opening… The undead were still disoriented and in shock from the blast of pure energy that Bilon had unleashed. The monk punched at the air in an arc as though he had 8 arms. His fists were flyin’ so fast, you could barely see them, I could clearly sense he was tapping into his psionic power. He struck the air with such a great force that the air itself turned into flying fists as hard as steel. In the blink of an eye, two ghouls dropped, as well as the one of skeletal horse. The monk then followed this up with an additional attack dropping the third ghoul.

I must admit, I was for the time being, in awe of the power the monk possessed. I decided it was time to tap into my own psionic power, and brought me craghammer crashing down into the last remaining skeletal horse. The foul hellspawn crumbled to the ground…encouraged by my success I pressed on, landing a hit against the last remaining ghoul. The ghoul stumbled back and was quickly finished off by the strike of a divine flame by Bilon.

The battle was won, but we were now left with even more questions…What in the world were these ghouls doing so far away from Tiam-Krey, not to mention why was this wagon here? Jett inspected the partially eaten dragonborn…there was no mistaking it, she was from the Black Raptor tribe.

Jett was the first to speak… “This is not good, this woman was certainly a member of the Black Raptor tribe, the markings are unmistakable. These ghouls…they have to be from the ruins of Tiam-Krey. We need to inform Kavak of this, but I think it would be best if we were to rest here tonight. It is getting late, and we are all weakened from the last battle.”

“Not to be pushy Jett, but I think you be wrong about one thing…we need to push through the pain and weariness and make our way back to the camp. Kavak needs to know about this as soon as possible, not to mention Sam should be back by now and if we wait until the morning Kavak may feel the need to send out a rescue party to look for us. We may be battered and bruised but we can’t linger here.”

“Well said, especially for a dwarf” said Winnish. “The last thing we need is to get back to camp just to find out that Kavak had sent a search party out to locate us that we need to go back out to rescue. I may have taken a few hard hits, but look at me, I am no worse for wear! Press on I say!”“I am not sure I like the idea of travelling at night with most of our power already expended, but if that is what the group decides, so be it…” added Winnish.Jett was not happy…”So be it, I think it foolish to travel now and I hope I don’t get the opportunity to say ‘I told you so’. We should find a way to transport this wagon back with us, and we should also take the remains of the dragonborn. I do have a particular spell that allows me to create a platform of energy that can carry the wagon. Lastly, I think you should all take a look at this. The dragonborn has a strange metal spike embedded in her throat. It has the distinct markings of having been enchanted at one point. I do not know if this was used to prevent the dragonborn from using her breath weapon, or merely to keep her from speaking, but I cannot imagine these ghouls were intelligent enough to devise such a device.”

We loaded up the wagon and the remains of the dragonborn and began our trek back to camp.

As we approached the camp, something was clearly amiss. There was a large gathering of folk that I did not recognize near the fire in the middle of camp, along with Kavak. It looked like some sort of meeting was taking place, but with whom I had no idea. There were hobgoblins, some humans and I could swear in the distance I was able to make out the shape of a Shardmind. If there was truly a Shardmind with them, this could be nothing but trouble.

Just as we entered camp, Sam came running up to us..."There you guys are! Thank you so much for rescuing me, I have shared the tale with everyone from the camp of the great lizards you defeated. I am truly in your debt"

Aside from Sam, no one else really noticed us coming back into camp, everyone was so focused on the meeting that was occurring. Eventually Smiler, a gnoll from our tribe walked over to us..."Note, Note!" he said as he handed Jett a bottle of what looked to be whiskey.

Stuffed into the top of the bottle was a rolled up piece of paper that simply read... "Play it smooth, but wander over when you can. -K". Thankfully Kavak had been prepared for our return, so we slowly started making our way through camp. Bilon decided to stay back and talk with some of the guards and fellow tribesmen. Jett and Winnish mingled through folks to position themselves north of the fire, but within conversation distance of the Kavak and the unknown entourage.

The monk and I headed south around the gathering to get within earshot as well. My instincts had been correct, there was indeed a Shardmind with our new visitors. In my studies of my psionic power I had read many accounts of the Shardmind. They are beings of pure crystal that possess abundant psionic ability. They rarely are seen in our world, let alone seen with human companions. We now had a clear view of the visitors. The first thing that stood out was that the equipment and armor they were using was much better quality that we were used to seeing amongst the tribes. They had equipment that would require advanced forges, like those found in a city, not in the midst of a nomadic tribe. As I continued to look amongst the visitors, I recognized a woman who was standing not far from me. Her name was Halx, she was from the Riverman Tribe, but we had not seen anyone from her tribe in years...

"Halx, if ya don't mind me asking, we haven't seen anyone from your tribe in quite some time, what is the occasion?"

Halx replied..."I've brought my new friends! Isn't it wonderful? Oh and Sam told us about your last adventure, how exhilarating!"

"Of course it be wonderful to have friends Halx, but where did your new friends come from?"

Excitedly, Halx stated..."They have restored civilization in the South! They plan to do the same here!"

"But how in the name of the Gods have they done that? The ghouls and other undead infest the cities...it would take a massive army to retake any of the old cities."

"I am not privy to the details of how we will retake the city, but they have already retaken Scaleport!" said Halx.

"Impressive I must say, so who are these new friends of yours?"

"Oh, how foolish of me...they are called The Prepotency! They reclaimed Scaleport all by themselves and are reuniting the tribes!" replied Halx.

"And that Hobgoblin talking to Kavak, is he the leader?"

"Don't be silly Rangrim, the Centurion is a great military leader, but no he is not the leader of The Prepotency. We are led by the glorious Emperor Halexon!" stated Halx.

Something seemed off about Halx, she almost seemed forcibly happy and excited, perhaps it was true excitement from Scaleport being reclaimed from the undead, but it just didn't seem natural to me. I studied Halx, to look for an opening, when I noticed a symbol on her armor, a symbol that also happened to be on the wagon we found with the dragonborn. It was time to push my diplomatic skills and see if I could crack through that fake joy that Halx was displaying.

"So Halx, you mention that Sam informed you of our most recent adventure...did he tell you about the enormous lizard I crushed with my craghammer?"

Halx replied..."Oh yes he did, it is truly amazing...you are such a powerful dwarf!"

"Did anyone mention the wagon we encountered that had symbols on it just like your armor? It was truly horrible...the wagon was overrun by ghouls from Tiam-Krey... and there was a women...she was partially eaten."

Halx looked around nervously, clearly I had struck a nerve with my last comment. The joyful facade was beginning to fade...

"Halx, just calm down now, we are just two friends talking...no need to get worked up. From your excitement I figured you would want to hear all about the adventure."

Halx relaxed a bit, looked to the centurion who was paying no attention to our conversation..."Come with me, we need to talk" said Halx.

We casually moved away from the fire, the monk followed close behind. Once we were sufficiently away from the center of camp, Halx turned to me..."Sorry...it's just that, well...my new friends don't exactly like dragonborn. By any chance was the woman a dragonborn?"

"She in fact was a dragonborn...well at least what was left of her was. How did you know?"

Halx looked to the ground, very softly she replied..."I had heard that a dragonborn had recently escaped from Scaleport... my tribe was looking for her. Did you bring the wagon and body back with you?"

Putting my skills to the test, I twisted the truth slightly..."No, we honored the dead, and burned the wagon. It was infested from the ghouls that had been calling it home. It was beyond repair...wait you said escaped? Was she a criminal, what was she charged with?"

Halx looked back to the centurion..."I am sorry Rangrim, but I am not here as an emissary, only as a friend. I can not answer these questions...it is best if we returned to the fire..."

Halx turned and walked back to the center of camp, clearly she was affected by our conversation. She had lost the joy in her step and was no longer bubbling over with happiness. The monk and I followed behind. As we got back to the fire, the conversation between the Centurion and Kavak was just finishing up.

"I am sorry friend, I can not accept those terms, but thank you for your generous offer." said Kavak to the Centurion.

"I am sorry to hear that you will not be joining us Kavak. Will you at least allow us to hunt in your lands?" replied the Centurion.

"Surely we can work something out..." stated Kavak.

"And who are your friends Kavak, perhaps you could introduce us?" asked the Centurion...

"Oh how rude of me...These fine folk are members of my tribe that do some adventuring for us. The dwarf beside you is Rangrim. He is about as tough as the stone that supports a mountain. next we have Jett...mentally as tough as Rangrim is physically tough. Over yonder is Bilon, a rather caring fellow, he likes to tend to our wounded. Over here in the rather large hat is Winnish...beware his wit...it could cut steel. Lastly, that silent Gith over there...well we don't know his name, but he likes to help out around here." replied Kavak.

The Centurion introduced himself to Winnish and then moved on to Jett..."A genasi in these parts? how unusual..."

The Centurion smiled..."Ah,yes, number Fifty Three! His kind are instrumental in keeping open our lines of communication. Why, he could send a message to any of the Prepotency's legions right now!"

Quizzically, Jett asked..."If I may ask...why that name for him?"

Suddenly I heard a voice in my head that said merely, "Silence foolish humans!". Judging by the looks on the faces of the rest of the party, everyone had heard the same. It was a telepathic message from the shardmind...

"And you dwarf...what is your name?" asked the Centurion...

"The name is Rangrim...I like to smash things with me hammer. I keep it simple that way. Why exactly are you here, we seem to have been left out of that part of this discussion"

"Oh, have you not heard we are to lay seige to Tiam-Krey? We have already retaken scaleport and soon Tiam-Krey will fall before us...Kavak has said the tribe will not join in our glorious battle, but how about you five, surely Kavak would allow you to leave the tribe for a brief time to retake Tiam-Krey...How about you Gith...I did not know your kind could be content as shephards..." said the Centurion.

The monk just motioned at his decline of the offer...

"Rangrim, how about you...Kavak has bragged of your toughness, and you certainly seem to like to swing that hammer of yours. Join with us!" asked the Centurion.

"Well that depends... you see I have a really good dragonborn friend that I am sure would love to fight to free Tiam-Krey from the clutches of the undead. It would have to be a package deal..."

The Centurion no longer seemed as jovial..."I am sorry Rangrim, but your friend would not be allowed. The Prepotency does not recognize dragonborn as friend. They received preferential treatment by the dragons"

"Oh, so what you are saying is that your emperor is a racist bastard then? Last I checked, the dragonborn were slaughtered right alongside my brothers and sisters. There be no way I could ever work with your emperor, no matter how much I want to see Tiam-Krey restored."

A hush fell over the camp...clearly they had never witnessed the fine art of dwarven diplomacy. I could see the fury building in the eyes of the Centurion, but he closed his eyes and calmed himself.

"Rangrim, perhaps you should choose your words more wisely next time. I am sorry that you do not understand our position, we are just trying to do what is best in an attempt to restore civilization. And the rest of you...do you share the same opinion as Rangrim?" replied the Centurion.

Jett chimed in..."I can see valid points from both of you. In the end all that matters is the decision of Kavak. My loyalty is to Kavak right now. What he says goes. My personal views stay with me."

Winnish added..."I, for one, believe my particular services *as a farmhand of course!* are at this time needed here amongst the Crows."

With the Prepotency jackasses gone, Kavak called us all over to fire. He thanked us all for having kept things under control, although he did shoot me a rather stern look. I guess this was the first time any of the Crows had been exposed to dwarven diplomacy.

"Well now that that is all over, we best see to getting ourselves to our summer camp location. I sent out a scouting party a while ago, but have not heard anything back. I need you 5 to get out there ahead of the tribe and make sure the way is clear." said Kavak.

"Kavak, perhaps before we leave, you would like to hear about our last adventure? The lizards we fought while savin' Sam...they had the markins of the Black Raptor tribe. In addition, we came across a rather sturdy wagon that had been overrun with ghouls from Tiam-Krey. There was a half eaten dragonborn woman with the wagon. She had a silver spike driven through her throat...we are guessin' it was to prevent her from being able to user her breath weapon. The wagon displayed the same emblem as was on the armor of the Prepotency. Jett used his magic in order to transport the wagon and all of it's contents, as well as the dragonborn back to camp.

I spoke with Halx who was with the Prepotency. She was from the rivermen tribe. She told me that the dragonborn woman had escaped from Scaleport. I can only guess that the cruel spike was driven into the draonborn's throat by the Prepotency.

We should honor the dead, and give the woman a proper burial before headin' out.

I kept a journal of our adventure that will explain all of this in greater detail if ya like, but I wanted to ensure you were aware of what we had encountered."

"Honor the dead, we shall my brother..." chimed Bilon.

Kavak looked to be in deep thought, clearly this was troubling news...

"Get the wagon to Misa, she is a wonderful tinker. The spike needs to go to Kavouri, and yes I agree, we should bury the dragonborn. Give me the journal, I will need some time to read it." replied Kavak.

Thankfully, for some reason Jett was intimately familiar with dragonborn burial ritual...suffice to say we honored the dragonborn with one hell of a kick ass funeral. If only we had gotten to her before the ghouls...

We decided that it would be wise to rest before heading out to scout ahead of the tribe...tomorrow held a long journey for our little adventuring party. I must admit that I had not been overly impressed with the party while we were battlin' them lizards. I was quite frankly amazed we didn't lose anyone, especially Sam...but that battle with them ghouls...these guys really showed some impressive battle tactics.

Let's start with Jett...I still feel like Jett is a lazy bastard, but once he was motivated he was able to put on a pretty impressive display of magical power. His awareness of the battlefield and his ability to control our enemies was invaluable in the battle with the ghouls.

Next up, Bilon...I don't understand his zealous devotion to the gods...but everyone, including Sam made it back alive thanks to some powerful and timely healing by my fellow dwarf...and if we are up against any more ghouls anytime soon, his power over the undead was considerable.

Then we have the monk...the silent one...the one who likes to rush in and get beat up badly...yet in the battle with the ghouls once he was able to stay on his feet he dished out an utterly insane amount of punishment. The monk reminds me of some explosives I have seen used amongst the dwarves. It took a while for the fuse to burn, but as long as you could keep the fuse from going out, when that explosion happened it was a jaw dropping experience. I just wish the guy could talk...or at least tell us his name.

Lastly...Winnish. I am still not sure how to read him. He likes to think his wit is as sharp as his rapier, but it didn't exactly serve him well in either of our battles...not to mention I still am pissed that he got me armor dirty before this all began. Kavak apparently sees considerable value in Winnish's talents, so for the time being I will just have to have some faith in Kavak's decision.

It was getting late...time to get a good rest before heading back out tomorrow.

I had just finished cleaning me armor and hammer as the sun crested the horizon to signal the arrival of morning. Hopefully the rest of the crew would be ready on time today so we could get moving as soon as possible. We had a long days march ahead of us if we were to make the summer camp by nightfall. Much to my surprise, the entire party was up and eating breakfast at the fire in the middle of camp.

"Glad to see you all got ready on time for a change. If your done stuffin' your bellies, I think we best get a move on. Hopefully this will be an uneventful trip...but if it isn't...I got me hammer all polished and am ready to crush some skulls."

Winnish looked up from under his outrageously large hat and with a wry smile said..."Oh I am sure it will be an uneventful trip...that is if you can manage to avoid calling any all powerful emperors or leaders racists bastards...oh and try not to trip over your own stubby little legs today, that muddy armor smelled worse than a kobold dung pile. Perhaps we can see if the tribe has a spare Ass for you to ride on so you can keep up with the rest of us..."

I like to think that I am a patient dwarf...but he had crossed the line..."Why you...you...ignorant surface dweller! It is time I taught you a lesson!"

I rushed at Winnish determined to tackle him to the ground. I wouldn't even need me hammer to put a hurt on him. Just as I was about to tackle him, he stepped out of the way and used me own momentum to put me face first into the mud...yet again.

"I told ya to be careful not to trip over your stubby little legs...when will you learn. It goes left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. Perhaps on our long march I can give you a few lessons in the fine art of walking!" said Winnish with a chuckle.

Looking back, perhaps this was an omen of my impending run of bad luck...

We had been marchin' for most of the day, an if I had to guess, we were about halfway to the summer camp location. The landscape ahead flattened out into a bit of a plain amidst the hills. Out of nowhere we heard a loud rumblin' comin' from the ground. I could feel small tremors pulsing through the soil. I have felt an earthquake before...this was different. We needed to proceed with caution...so of course I strutted out to the head of the pack in an attempt to bait whatever was under to ground to come to the surface. Our silent monk readied himself to attack. Sure enough, no sooner had I walked 50 yards when an ugly ass, slime covered beast burst through the ground, knocking me prone. My armor was now coated with a bit of slime, and quite a bit of dirt and grime.

The monk used his impressive reflexes to fire off a shuriken at the beast that had just emerged. Despite the large size of the beast, apparently the monk was in too much of a hurry to bother aiming. I am just glad he didn't plant the throwing star into me back...

As I staggered back to me feet, I was able to take a good look at the creature that had just attacked us..."What in the nine hells does everyone and everything seem to have against me keepin' me armor clean! You sure are one ugly lookin' shark with legs."

From behind me I heard Jett calling out..."Rangrim, from my extensive studying of history, I am pretty sure the create us called a land shark! Be careful!"

"Thanks for the history lesson professor...I would never have guessed that this here shark with legs would be called a land shark! Perhaps you could recall something from your studies that is actually useful in our fight?"

"How about instead I introduce this beast to my magic!" replied Jett. Jett made a great show of casting a spell at the land shark, unfortunately nothing happened.

I think the shark was a bit confused by the show Jett had just put on...waiting for something...anything,to happen. Winnish took the opportunity to strike at the beast, landing a precise hit as well as setting himself up to counter if the shark attacked him back. The shark barely flinched...this was going to be a rough battle.

Bilon and the monk pressed the attack further...Bilon called down sacred flame, singing the shark. The stench coming from the charred slime covering the shark was nauseating. The smell must have gotten to the monk as he weaved in to strike, but was strike landed considerably wide of his target.

I turned me attention back to me foe, drew me hammer and let loose with a powerful strike that came down on his head, right between the eyes. Amazingly the bastard just shook his head and looked no worse for wear. I would need to try and keep his attention, so I did the first thing that came to mind and I spit in the shark's face. Hopefully his simple mind would comprehend the insult.

Thankfully, spitting on the shark did the trick, it lunged at me with it's gaping maw. I held my ground as the beast sunk it's teeth into my shoulder. The bastard drew blood, but I was able to shrug off the bulk of the attack. I staggered back a step, but just as I had recovered, I saw the shark coming in for another attack. The shark clamped down on me other shoulder, again drawing blood...but the beast underestimated my strength as I wrestled free from his bite. I had been wounded much worse in the past, this was merely a flesh wound.

With the shark so furiously focused on me, Winnish launched another assault, however the slime on the beast caused Winnish's rapier to glance off if the shark's side, doing no damage. Just as Winnish recovered his balance, the ground began to shake once more.

"This can't be good" yelled Jett..."I think we are about to be joined by another one of these beasts."

Just as Jett had finished overstating the obvious, a second shark burst from the ground, showering Jett and Bilon with debris. Jett somehow managed to dodge all of the flying rock, but Bilon took the debris head on...literally as he was smashed square on the top of his helm by a large rock. Bilon fell to one knee...a bit shaken from the blow, but he quickly regained his senses as he launched an attack at the first shark. The shark was bathed in a radiant light, his outline so clear, he would be much easier to strike now.

The monk, with a steely determination in his eyes launched a flurry of strikes at the shark. This time, the monk found his mark as he landed a series of punishing blows. The beast was in no shape to defend, so I called upon my strength from within, becoming one with my mind and spirit, my wounds began to heal. I vaulted myself up into the air and brought my hammer crashing down onto the head of the beast. I could hear the bones of the beast beginning to crumble, my hammer was now covered in blood and broken bone.

Out of desperation the shark spit a large ball of slime in my direction. Clearly his sight had been affected by my blow, and the slime didn't come anywhere close to hitting...

"Quick ya dumb beast...how many dwarves do ya see in front of you? I think perhaps you are having trouble seeing!"

Winnish quickly interrupted me..."Rangrim, don't look now but it looks like that ball of snot is coming back for another try at hitting you!"

I turned just in time to see that the ball of slime was in fact alive. It lunged at me, but I was easily able to block it with my shield. With our attention focused on the slime, the shark burrowed back into the ground. Winnish attempted to land a strike against the fleeing beast, but his strike found only empty air.

Winnish watched closely as the slime lurched at me. As I was repelling the slime with me shield, Winnish lunged forward with his rapier, landing a precise strike into the slime. As Winnish withdrew his rapier, the hole in the slime closed as if it had never been struck.

"The slime still stands there jiggling! Surely this is one powerful little slime" chimed Winnish!

In an attempt to sound scholarly, Jett added..."Well, it is one of those green slimes. Much more sturdy than your common blue slime!"

"Whatever the hell it be, it shouldn't be much of a threat...we need to be focusing our attacks on the sharks. Clearly they be posing the bigger danger. Jett, can't you do somethin' more than enlighten us with your immense knowledge..." I said, as I rolled me eyes at Jett.

"What Rangrim, is this foe too great for your hammer to handle? Asking for assistance from a wizard...how ironic coming from a dwarf...a race that shuns magic practically!" quipped Jett as he unleashed a spout of flame at the second shark.

Unfortunately the flames, while widespread barely came to the ankles of the shark.

"Stand back folks...Jett is going to singe the grass so we have more steady footing when it comes time to actually damage the beast!"

Seeing the pathetic excuse for fiery damnation, Bilon called down Avandra's sacred flame, clearly scarring the hide of the second shark...

Proud of his blessing from Avandra, Bilon remarked..."Truly we are blessed by Avandra, by her grace victory will be ours! Be bold in your actions team, for Avandra smiles on me this day!"

The monk heeded Bilon's call for bold and courageous actions as he charged at the second shark, weaving back and forth like a cobra being charmed by a snake charmer. The monk swung his fists at the beast, however the shark somehow managed to dodge the blows. I must admit, I am wondering if all the weaving has something to do with all of the strong dwarven ale that be missing from me pack.

I decided that I was too far away from the second shark to make a move, so I focused me attention on the slime. Bringing me hammer crashing down on the slime, just before impact the slime split in two...me hammer burying itself into the soft ground. The slime reformed as I pulled me hammer back to me side. Baffled by the agility of the slime, I decided the best course of action would be to attempt and piss off both the slime and the shark...

"Hey slime ball, I bet your mother was a whore of a gelatinous cube, mating with any piece of snot it could find...and hey, ya big dumb shark...I bet your mother wishes she had eaten you when you were born...you are a pitiful predator!"

Apparently the shark had mommy issues as he was clearly pissed...unfortunately he decided to take his anger out on Bilon. The shark bit down hard into Bilon's arm, drawing a considerable amount of blood. Bilon dropped to one knee, wincing in pain. I also must have touched a nerve in the slime ball, if that is even possible. With my attention focused on the shark and Bilon, the slime struck me with a gelatinous whip right in the back.

"Ach, is that all ye got slime ball? You'll have to do better than that if ya think you are gonna best me!"

Bilon called upon Avandra, speaking great words of healing. His wounds began to close as he retaliated by calling down another sacred flame to further char the skin of the second shark. The shark writhed in pain and let out a load guttural noise. Seconds later, the first shark reappeared next to Winnish, launching an attack as he broke through the surface. Winnish was left with a nasty gash in his leg, slowing him considerably.

What ensued next can only be described as a comedy of errors...With one shark near death, the second shark badly wounded and a weakling slime just waiting to die, the entire party seemed to forget how to hit a target...well except for me of course. I hate to say it, but I felt bad for the sorry lot and so I held back a bit, just barely missing my attacks so as to not shame the rest of the party too badly. Unfortunately, that poor little, weak slime turned out to be quite the troublemaker. Just as the party started regaining their bearings, and their attacks started finding their marks, the little ball of snot managed to launch itself through the air onto me. I was completely enveloped in the slime and could barely move...and what horrible timing.

The sharks took notice of my inability to act and turned back to Winnish. The second shark landed a devastating blow, dropping Winnish unconscious. If I could have just gotten this stupid slime off of me I could have offered assistance...thankfully Bilon was at the ready, and no sooner had Winnish dropped then Bilon was speaking words of healing and brought Winnish back to his feet.

Strengthened by the healing, Winnish lunged at the first shark, connecting with a precise blow that felled the giant beast, then carrying his momentum he swung around and landed another blow against the second shark. Bilon followed up Winnish's attack by calling down sacred flame, finishing off the second shark.

I continued to struggle with the slime, swinging my hammer in vain. The monk tried to attack the slime, but in the end he ended up doing just as much damage to me as he did the slime. I gathered my strength and made another attempt to dislodge the slime...unfortunately while I was able to break free of the slime, it used it's momentum to lunge at the monk. The monk began throwing furious punches and kicks to try and escape, but in the end managed to just look like a pair of badgers fighting in a burlap sack.

We threw numerous attacks at the slime, only for it to split itself out of the way, leaving us hitting only the monk, and ultimately knocking the monk unconscious. Finally, Bilon was able to catch the slime with a fairly powerful sacred flame, killing it and then rushed to the side of the monk to administer healing.

The battle was done...yet we were merely halfway to the summer camp location...we needed to keep moving, but we had no choice as we desperately needed to rest. While everyone else slumped to the ground to catch their breath, I took it upon myself to deal with the remains of the sharks. Cutting them open I found a particularly ornate spear inside the belly of the first shark, and a few gemstones in the belly of the second shark. The monk was elated when I handed over the spear, as it was clearly magical in nature. Hopefully this would be a turning point for our little band of misfits.

I started to become aware of the fact that our last battle had unlocked some power that had been hidden away inside of me...my brain began to swim with the possibilities. After a bit of contemplation, I had come up with a few new tactics...clearly my diplomacy skills were superior when compared to the entire party...perhaps I could use this fact to inspire my teammates, bolstering them with the sheer power of my words. It may not work, but I am certainly going to try! I could also feel my psionic abilities sharpening...with my mind strengthened I am pretty sure I will be able to shrug off even more damage now.

Looking around at the party, it looks like the rest of them had just come to the same realization. Despite how difficult the last encounter was, we had all grown a little.

After the party finished their short rest, it was time to get moving again, we needed to stay ahead of the tribe. We had walked many miles, seeing little more than some small game. Things were quiet...perhaps too quiet. We were getting pretty close to the summer camp location when we came to the entrance to a small valley. I motioned for the party to hold their position...something was wrong, I could sense it. I scanned the trees in the distance and was able to make out at least 5 humanoid shapes. Clearly this was a trap...but we had no choice, this was the only way to get to our camp. I decided that a bold approach would be best, stepping forward a few steps...

"Alright, I see you down there...don't think you are still hidden. If you don't want your skulls crushed under me hammer I suggest you come out into the open and discuss with us why you are being so foolish as to try and ambush us. I recommend you not piss me off, me hammer be thirsting for some blood."

Quietly, the shadows began to move towards us..."Come show me your hammer stunty, there will be no discussions today!" shouted one of our assailants.

I braced for battle, but before I could move Winnish rushed forward. He had gotten no more than 10 feet in front of me, when a loud click rang out from under his feet. He looked down just in time to see an explosive device detonate. Somehow he deftly managed to leap out of the way of the blast unscathed.

"Quite the devious device they did decide to deploy I must say...but alas it failed in execution!" chimed Winnish.

Unfazed by explosion, Winnish pressed on, keeping his back to the cliff side. The monk was next to rush down the valley entrance, keeping pace with Winnish. As the monk was charging, our shadowed enemies stepped out from their cover. Four of them looked to be members of the rivermen tribe...the last however I did not recognize. Judging from his appearance I would say he was a magic user of some sort. I decided the best course of action would be to charge the mage and lock him down as best as I could. The rivermen looked to be none too strong, so the rest of the party could handle them.

I moved as fast as me little legs would take me in an attempt to reach the mage. Unfortunately, before I could reach him he slammed his staff into the ground, causing large molten rocks to burst from the ground and pelt a large area that included me. I managed to dodge most them, but Jett and Bilon who had been following in behind me weren't as lucky. With the mage trying to recover from expending so much energy in one spell, I lunged forward landing a devastating blow to his chest. I could feel his ribs collapsing under me hammer, but somehow he still stood. I pushed forward to stay as close tot he mage as possible, hopefully I could prevent him from casting any more spells...

"The rest of you take care of the rivermen, I got the mage." I called out the rest of the party. I then turned my attention back to the mage..."Some mage you are...I suppose it will be magical when me hammer turns your bones to dust. I already think your ribs be a might bit broken. Perhaps you should take me up on me original offer and surrender. Let's just talk this out...otherwise I am more than happy to spill your brains so they can be feasted upon by the crows...the Stone Crows that is. Of course it would likely be a very small meal because apparently you all have incredibly tiny brains."

"Careful stunty, I think your armor may still be on fire a bit...you barely wounded me. The Prepotency surrenders to no one!" replied the hobgoblin mage.

The battle raged around me. I was focused so intently on the mage that I lost track of the rest of the party. Every now and again I would hear a dart fly by and a cringe of pain from both Winnish and the Monk, but no one called out for help so I figured everything was fine. The mage tried to retaliate by conjuring more flames, but I struck swiftly to knock him off balance, causing the flames to miss their mark.

With the mage off balance and his attention focused on me, the monk moved in behind the mage and landed the decisive blow. All to quickly the mage dropped to the ground...

"Some challenge he was, all too easy. The rest of you rivermen... drop your weapons. We got no problem with the rivermen tribe, it is time you start talking."

The enemy closest to me responded..."I am sorry friend, but today we see this through. We will die in glorious battle!"

With my focus no longer affixed to the mage, I took a moment to survey the battlefield. Both Winnish and the monk had taken quite a few shots from poisoned darts. One of the rivermen had fallen, 3 were remaining. Winnish was looking especially bloodied and Bilon moved quickly to speak words of healing to Winnish.

"Right, right...good as new I am now!" exclaimed Winnish.

The riverman darter who had been attacking Winnish turned to run when he saw Winnish back in good health, but Winnish caught him square in the back with his rapier, the darter crumpled to the ground.

There were only two left, I moved in to attack the riverman piercer who was closest to me. Jett let loose with a spell as he slammed his staff into the ground. The resulting force wave impacted the riverman nearest Jett with such force that the enemy was tossed back into the air. The riverman landed on the ground as his last breath escaped.

"This is your last chance...you are all alone, just drop your weapons and surrender!"

"I am sorry, but let's end this...I'll see ye all in Avernus!" responded the riverman as he charged at me with his spear.

I raised my hammer, but just as the riverman was about to be in range, Bilon called down a sacred flame, giving the riverman his wish, burning him to a crisp.

We were only 30 minutes from camp now...but why were those rivermen and the mage here? Where they lying in wait to ambush us? Speaking of the mage, his armor bore the symbol of the Prepotency...were they hunting us? So many questions, but we needed to stay focused on the task at hand.

Jett detected magical energies coming from the scarf the mage was wearing and was able to divine that it would protect the wearer from cold as well as improve his overall resistances. The party decided after some deliberation that I should receive the blue scarf...not sure why tho to be honest...it isn't me who is constantly near death or unconscious...but I am not one to look a gift Hippogriff in the mouth as they say....

While I fiddled around with determining the best way to the scarf...we headed towards our summer camp location. As we came up out of the valley, we could see smoke rising in the distance towards where our summer camp was. We decided to proceed with caution, who knows what these Prepotency scum were doing out here. Jett scurried up a tree to get a better look...

Peering into the distance, Jett reported..."There are at least 50 soldiers in the fort. They even have managed to construct a moat...It looks like they have some Ogres working for them...I will burn to a crisp the first person that says we should attack!"

"Those low down dirty sons of whores! They come to our camp, try and negotiate with us to get us to join them...all the while they are up here building a fort on our prime location. This fort has to have been under construction for weeks if not months! I knew I should have slaughtered those..."

Bilon interrupted..."Calm down Rangrim, now is not the time for anger and rash judgments. We need to get back to the tribe and ensure their safety. Kavak will want to know what we have found."

I whipped around to face Bilon with a piercing glare..."Calm down ya say? I ought to send you to meet Avandra face to face me brother...you think I be angry? This is merely me being mildy annoyed. If I were angry I would march into that fort on me own and slaughter the whole mess of em...No, not today...but some day I will be planting me hammer square in the face of their so called emperor. Protecting our tribe is indeed the objective right now, so let's move as fast as we can to get back to Kavak...but next time you be letting me finish before you go telling me what I should or shouldn't do."

Bilon looked at me in a stunned silence, unsure of how to respond. Without another word, I turned and began to walk back down into the valley. Despite my anger, I knew that the best course of action was to get back to the tribe and figure out what we would do next. We had been walking for about half the day when Bilon noticed some movement coming from behind us.

"Not that I want to sound an alarm" began Bilon..."but it looks like we have us some company approaching quickly. Best I can tell, it is a pack of wolves, but a few of them look bigger than normal."

Winnish chimed in..."Perhaps it would be most advantageous if we beat a hasty withdrawal to our tribe. Those wily wolves aren't moving fast enough to catch us."

The party began to run...I feigned an attempt at running, but I was in a mood for a fight. So I intentionally slowed my pace...making excuses about me short legs not allowing me to run very fast.

"You lot go on without me...I can hold me own against a simple pack of wolves. I'll catch up after I deal with this nuisance. Me legs just aren't in the mood for runnin' right now. So you guys stick your tails between your legs and go get Kavak."

Jett responded..."I don't think these are a simple pack of wolves Rangrim. There is something strange about a few of them, they look much larger than a standard wolf. If my history serves me correctly, there should be a small house in this area with a pond...it may provide us a tactical advantage. Let us make our way there."

I was half tempted to ask Jett why in the world he would have such useless knowledge about a random house in the middle of nowhere...but I left well enough alone. Jett was certainly right, the house could provide us with some beneficial cover. So we made our way to Jett's diamond in the rough to prepare for battle...

Sure enough, Jett was spot on with his history of the area. We found the small run down house next to a pond just as Jett had stated. The wolves were chasing us from the south. I had assumed we would use the house to gain a tactical advantage, so I set myself up in the doorway to provide cover for the team. Unfortunately Winnish and the monk decided it would be better to stand out in the open and act like bait.

"Ya fools, how am I supposed to protect ya when you stand in the middle of the field? You're gonna get yourselves killed!"

Winnish responded... "Ah I am just preparing for a most sinister strike to the unsuspecting wolves! They will not know what hit them, for I shall be like a sheep in wolves clothing...or something like that!"

I drew my weapon and began to advance...I would do no good standing back so far from the front lines that our monk and Winnish had so idiotically drawn...As I charged forward two of the wolves moved with blinding speed, leaping at the monk. The monk with the grace of a swan dodged from side to side avoiding the swiping paws with ease. A bit further to our south was what looked to be the leader of the pack...this wolf was easily twice the size of any other. Beside him were four smaller wolves...I continued to charge towards our monk in an attempt to distract the two wolves that were attacking him. From behind I could hear Jett muttering a spell, and no more than a second later the four small wolves were caught in a detonation of fire and force. Their bodies slumped to the ground and the odds had just swung in our favor.

Winnish stepped in against the pack leader, landing a vicious blow, but he wolf shrugged it off and responded by attacking the monk. The wolf bit down deep into the monk's leg, knocking the monk prone. After biting the monk, the pack leader let out a long howl and then before me very own eyes it began to change...into a hobgoblin? What kind of dark magic were we dealing with? The hobgoblin was wearing armor of dwarven craftsmanship and wielding a great sword the likes I have never seen. As the hobgoblin readied the sword, hundreds of teeth began ripping around the blade. If the hobgoblin connects with that sword it would make quick work of both the monk and Winnish, I had to keep charging to try and get to the front lines.

Bilon advanced out of the house and called down a sacred flame upon one of the wolves that was flanking Winnish. The smell of burnt hair floated in the wind. I was nearly to the front lines, I readied myself to attack, taunting one of the wolves in an attempt to get it off of the monk and Winnish. Thankfully the wolf didn't take kindly to me insults and it turned to attack me. Prepared for the attack, I brought me craghammer crushing down into the ribs of the wolf. Despite being winded, the wolf still managed to catch me with his claws, but it was barely a scratch. Then, just like the pack leader did, my target began to transform. The wolf turned into a bugbear...hopefully Jett will know something of these foul beasts we were fighting.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the pack leader sunk the teeth of his sword into Winnish, drawing a considerable amount of blood. As Winnish began to stagger, the monk moved to brace him, but before the monk could reach Winnish the remaining wolf lunged at Winnish and sunk his teeth deep into Winnish's chest. Winnish's body went limp and dropped to the ground.

The normally calm monk began to shake with fury. Setting his eyes on the pack leader he summoned all of his strength and then went calm...the calm before the storm...Jett had seen enough, reaching down deep he focused his mind in an attempt to cast two spells at once. First he summoned forth a swarm of deadly insects in the minds of the pack leader and the wolf that was with him. Their focus would be impaired...and then from thin air Jett conjured a flaming sphere that burned the back of the pack leader.

The monk was now ready to attack, first spinning in a deadly spiral, fists flying faster than the eye could see. The monk landed numerous blows to both the pack leader and the wolf next to him. The monk then followed this up by bobbing and weaving like a monkey that had gotten into me stash of ale. The monk landed a blow against the wolf. Confused by the attack, the wolf lunged in an attempt to counter attack, but without knowing it the wolf had lunged at his leader. The wolf's teeth bit down to the bone of the pack leaders leg.

The pack leader sensed defeat and attempted to transform back into a wolf to retreat. Jett was focused on the pack leader and he ordered the flaming sphere to attack. The flames finished off the pack leader, transformed halfway between a wolf and a hobgoblin.

Bilon charged forward, speaking words of healing, managing to stabilize Winnish before death had taken him for good. Demoralized the bugbear and remaining wolf looked for a way to escape...

"Not so fast foul beast, you aren't getting away that easy!"

Focusing my mind, I unleashed two quick strikes with me craghammer, connecting with both. The second strike split the bugbears skull in two, covering me hammer in brain. There was only one wolf remaining. Winnish stood and flanked the wolf, readying his blade for when the monk attacked. Seeing this, the monk attacked with the speed of a striking cobra. As the monk landed his attack, Winnish lunged forward, dealing the killing blow...

The battle was over, but once again Winnish and the Monk nearly got themselves killed by rushing in. I can only hope that one of these days they will finally learn to let me man the front lines. Looking over the corpses, Jett was able to reach into his vast knowledge and determine that the foul creatures were barghests...they are natural shape shifters, not lycanthropes. I decided to get a closer look at the gear the pack leader had. His armor was indeed of dwarven make...

"Will ya take a look at this...his armor has the mark of the Prepotency...their reach is greater than expected. We best collect up as much of this gear as we can and get back to the tribe..."

After gathering up all of the usable gear, we rushed back to the tribe to inform Kavak of the most recent developments.

After cleaning up the scene of the battle with the Barghest pack, we hurried back to the tribe. About halfway back, we encountered some scouts from the tribe, and they escorted us the rest of the way. Some of the older tribesmen looked a bit tired from the migration, but the rest of the clan seemed to be holding up well.

Kavak came out to great us with a grin on his face...I assume he was expecting a good report. Then he noticed Winnish's tattered, gore-covered, wolf-ravaged armor and shook his head.

Wearily Kavak sighed, "What now . . ."

Jett was the first to respond..."Kavak, I'm sorry to say that we have some bad news, and then we have some more bad news. Our camp has been taken over by the prepotency, and there now stands a fort with a moat on our camp location. We were severely outnumbered, and in the end, we didn't dare approach the camp any further. We did destroy one of their scouting parties nearby, so unfortunately there's a good chance that they may know something is up."

I was a bit dumbfounded by the pathetic excuse of an explanation Jett gave, so I decided to set the story straight..."Nice to see you be just as lazy in your reports Jett as you are at everything else ya do...at least ya be consistent. While Jett has given an excellent description of what them Prepotency bastards have done with our camp, he has left out a few details...The sons of whores were waiting for us. They had set up a landmine at the entrance to a valley that we pretty much had to travel through in order to get to the camp. They had been layin' in wait. The ambush was led by a hobgoblin mage, and he was accompanied by multiple members of the rivermen tribe. They had laid out a landmine trap that Winnish so expertly found with this foot. I tried to avoid the conflict, but they gave us no choice. Instead of talking they decided to throw themselves against me hammer which perhaps cracked open their skulls. Once the mage leader had dropped, I offered a second time the chance for them to surrender, but the remaining rivermen insisted on dying in battle.

Once we had finished dispatching the ambush, Jett did in fact climb up a tree and got a good look at the newly built fort. It was decided we would come back to warn the tribe. However, as Jett seems to have forgotten to mention...we were then attacked by a pack of unusual wolves. I suppose we could have run... but why run when we could fight! Well, iy just so happened that the wolves were some sort of shape shifters. Got me this armor from the leader of the pack. What in the world a hobgoblin was doing with enchanted dwarven armor, I will never know. As you can likely see...the armor bears the symbol of the Prepotency.

We got big problems boss, and I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with me calling out the emperor of the Prepotency for being the racist bastard that he is. The only reason them horses asses care about restoring civilization is so they can rule it with their boot to it's throat."

Bilon stepped up, trying to be a voice of reason..."The Prepotency has a long reach. I don't think we are their target, but they have us on the run. I think we need to scout out other areas to see where we can go. We also need to determine if they are hounding us in particular or if they are taking over all productive ground in general. I also fear that we might wind up being herded in a certain direction. What are our other options? We might have to stake out some new turf. Do we take on the undead ourselves? Do we align with our tormentors? I don't like that one, but we need to keep all options on the table while we plan at least. Difficult decisions are certainly ahead of us..."

Slightly embarrassed by his first report, Jett decided he needed to chime in with more information in an attempt to look useful..."Well, I'll admit, we did think about running from the wolves, but unfortunately some of us around here...such as Rangrim...aren't exactly guard trained and couldn't keep up.

And yes, the werewolves, or whatever exactly they were, were most unusual creatures. I've read of something in the past about them, something about them being some sort of unusual goblin mutation or something of the sort. The leader of the creatures tried to get away when he realized he was of no match for our group here, but my magicks did in the finishing blow."

Amused by Jett's attempt at picking fun at me..."Well, when ya can take a hit like I can, what use in ever runnin' is there? Runnin' be the cowards way of doin' things anyway. An just think, had we run, I wouldn't be sportin' this nice new armor! Should I also point out that it would have led the wolves right to our tribe...and then what would've happened ya fool?"

Looking a bit defeated, Jett replied..."Very good points, Rangrim. And we wouldn't have realized that they were from The Prepotency either. So I guess it was a good thing in the end. I still would suggest you look at getting yourself into better shape...perhaps a shape other than round...from all that ale you drink."

Kavak listened intently as we described our journeys, while many other Crows crowded around to try and listen in. Finally with the rage building in his eyes, Kavak stood to address the tribe...

"Yes . . . of course . . . well, yes." A familiar smile began to cross Kavak's face. "Of course I have a plan. Of course, I have a great plan! Just like always! A great plan indeed! If these extra-fancy gobbo bastards think they can take us, we'll soon teach 'em their lesson. Hellfire, our boys here have already started class!"

Scattered laughter made its way through the crowd and Misa the Tinker gave me beard a playful tussle.

Kavak continued..."The dragons couldn't finish us! The bastard ghouls couldn't finish us! And these poor sods think they can do us in? HA! They'll never even catch us, 'till we wanta' get caught. And when that day comes, they'll learn that 'catchin' the Stone Crows means wakin' up with the Raven Queen the very next day!"

A cheer went up from the crowd as Kavak made his way towards his hastily-assembled tent. Quite frankly I was pretty much convinced that Kavak had no plan at all. Unfortunately me hunch was confirmed when Kavak assembled our party and a few other advisers soon after. Kavak started the impromptu meeting with "Boys and girls, I've got nothin'. . ."

As everyone looked around with a combination of shock, fear and panic in their eyes, I stepped forward..."Kavak, the Crows once managed to evade the blight of the Dragons by using numerous hidden tunnels through the hills and the mountains. Seeing as you have 2 dwarves with you, perhaps we can take things underground. If the dragons couldn't sniff out the Crows, I give the Prepotency little chance of finding us. I am sure there are bound to be large caverns under the mountains, we could even set up a new base of operations.

I think we need to find some of the other local tribes and get ourselves some allies as well. For now we need to be on the defensive, perhaps using guerrilla tactics, we are too small of a tribe currently to take this threat head on. I mean sure, I could easily handle 30-40 Prepotency on my own, but that still leaves the rest of the tribe outnumbered."

Jett gathered his thoughts and added..."Rangrim, you make an excellent set of points. While I do trust in the skill of Kavak's fighters, bringing them in for battle would leave the regular townspeople alone and relatively unprotected. And who knows how many of them we'd lose to an assault on The Prepotency's base. However, if we could win such an assault...the rewards would be fantastic.

So, what would our other options be at this point? As suggested, yes, we could search out alternative lodging elsewhere. There's bound to be other places to hunker down for now. But it doesn't solve our problem of what to do with The Prepotency. Do we try to join them? I doubt that they'd accept us anymore after how well our last meeting went with them. Plus we've outright attacked their guards and/or scouts. And I doubt that we'd find that an acceptable solution.

Guerrilla tactics against their guards? That'll only work for a short while, before they use their overwhelming numbers to figure out what's going on and sent those assaulters to the Raven Queen.

Are there any other tribes in the area we could meet up with or merge into, Kavak? To be blunt - something big is going down, and it seems we're right in the middle of it."

I turned to address Jett..."Except for the markings on my armor, there is no evidence we were the ones who attacked their parties. We left no survivors...however if we attack the fort, their legions will know immediately due to the Prepotency positioning shardminds with each detachment. Perhaps before we would even think of an attack, we should find some way of dampening the psionic abilities of the shardmind to prevent communication. I wonder if Kavouri might know of some sort of magic that would help us in that?

That said...I do recall hearing of a small dwarven diamond mine somewhere in the mountains not too far north of our current location. From my understanding it only existed for a few years before being forced to closed by the Osradin government...for reasons unknown."

Kavak looked at me with a bit of a glint in his eye..."If the region could support a large mining operation, it is likely it could support our small tribe. We Goliaths are experts at survival and defense in mountainous terrain. However, going there via the most direct route would mean going through a small desert region during the heat of summer. I'm not sure the elderly and infirm members of our tribe could make the journey, much less our livestock."

Kavouri piped in with a look of disgust..."Bah...We can slaughter the sheep and do what we can for our weaklings. If they can not survive the journey to the mountains, then they shall make the journey to the Shadowfell. Our enemies are not likely to follow us through the desert, either. I think this is a good plan! "

Kavak and his advisers looked a bit taken back by Kavouri's ruthlessness, but no on spoke against her, either. Quite frankly, while a bit harsh, I do think she had a very good point.

Kavak then spoke up to address the possibility of allies..."The Five Fangs hold the fort to the north west. We may be able to get some support from them, but an actual merging of our groups would be unlikely. The Fangs are nearly all dragonborn and have treated our tribe with disdain in the past. Still, the threat of the Prepotency may be enough to forge some sort of alliance.

In addition there is the Grey Mist tribe that are located in the forest to the south west. They would be more likely to agree to some sort of partnership. However, they're notoriously hard to find. It could potentially mean veering deeper into Prepotency territory, too, depending on how far they've ventured out of Scaleport.

I do think finding some allies would be a wise move..."

Thinking for a moment about the situation, I replied..."Given the opinion the Prepotency has for dragonborn, it may be easier to form an alliance with the Five Fangs than it previously would have been. That said, despite the harsh words from Kavouri, if we were able to use some form of magic to ease the journey, my vote would be to make our way to the diamond mine. From there we can send emissaries to the Five Fangs and begin to build an army of our own."

John Farmer, one of Kavak's advisers finally got over his fear and panic and chimed in..."Minor clashes when groups first meet are not that unusual. I'd be willing to try diplomacy with the Prepotency once more. We won't turn over our Dragonborn to them, obviously, but we may have to shelter them in secret. It would be a small price to pay to restore civilization to the world."

The majority of the group in the tent, gave no reaction to the suggestion of attempting peace with the Prepotency...

Jett watched Kavouri's outburst with concern, and was glad to see her wander out after saying what she did...with a calm voice Jett added..."Agreed, Rangrim. Assuming The Prepotency has made their presence known to the Five Fangs, we may have a far easier time talking to them now than we did before. We may have to step around proverbial eggshells though talking to them again because of The Prepotency, but it's better than doing nothing.

And yes, changing our direction towards the diamond mine might be a wiser decision than either staying here or heading towards our occupied camp. I suggest an easier and longer route instead of heading straight through the desert though. Despite Kavouri's...thoughts, our tribesmen and livestock are not expendable.

John, despite what the Prepotency may say, there's something...wrong with them that I can't explain. Maybe it's their understandable hatred towards the Dragonborn, maybe it's because of what they've accomplished according to their associates, or maybe it's because they've occupied our lands, I don't know. But siding with them would be a last resort option as far as I'm concerned."

Bilon, who had been oddly silent for quite some time, decided to speak up..."We should goa nd speak with the Five Fangs. At the least warn them of the Prepotency's machinations if they don't already know. As for moving the tribe to the mine...giving up one of our own is out of the question. Perhaps we should journey to the Five Fangs while the tribe gathers supplies for the trek to the mine areas? "

A bit disturbed by Bilon's lack of urgency, I quickly responded..."If the Prepotency where in fact lying in wait for us, it may not be long before they come looking for us. We may not have much time to prepare for the journey. I personally feel that any sort of alliance with the Prepotency is out of the question. We need to act quickly and get the tribe moving."

Jett, looking a bit disturbed at the lack of urgency as well added..."Good point. They have a secure fort. Now is the question of what they do with it. And I doubt just sitting in it is the answer."

Kavak finally looked up...he had heard enough, and had made his decision..."We will head to the mountains via the safest route possible. There's a greater danger of being pursued, but I feel the safety of the weakest members of the tribe is worth the risk. I want both scouts and a rearguard to protect the tribe as we travel. I have no objection to sending parties to search for the mine or to Fort Five Fangs, but I will not order anyone to accept either of these missions. Do we have any volunteers?"

Looking a bit smug, I quickly responded..."I be more than willin' to put me diplomacy skills into action again, and I of course would be a natural choice for finding the mine! I will volunteer for whichever task you would have me do boss..."

Jett shuddered at the thought of seeing more dwarven diplomacy in action..."Rangrim my friend, I think your skills might be best used moving forward with myself and a few others looking for that mine."

Bilon added..."I volunteer to go to the Dragonborn fort first. I also have considerable diplomatic talents that may help repair my fellow dwarf's attempts."

Defensively, I replied..."Me diplomacy skills be just fine, I don't know why you be shudderin'! Last I recall I got some good information and them Prepotency bastards left without fighting us."

With a bit of a chuckle, Jett replied..."By the skin of our teeth Rangrim." Jett looked around at the others assembled in the tent. "Seems like this is almost settled. Any further thoughts, Winnish or our oh silent one? I can dig up some paper and a writing instrument if you have something you'd like to say."

Winnish stepped from the shadows..."Bilon...Good speed, good speed, swift and steady swift and steady. May that the scaly saurians stand with us as stalwart sentinels! And yes...yes this mine seems the safest stronghold. Will that we guide our less gifted guildsmen to her safety. Once safely stowed we return to these lands to observe the advance of our new found adversaries."

And with that, it was decided. Bilon would head out on a diplomatic mission, while Jett, Winnish, the monk, and I would scout ahead of the tribe to try and lead them to the mine...wherever exactly it may be.

Kavak looked up, weary from the discussions..."So all is set...let us prepare the tribe to move, we head out first thing in the morning..."